History professors remind us what Fourth fireworks truly mean

In 2012, 1 in 4 Americans didn’t know who the United States declared independence from. Have things gotten any better since then?

The Fourth of July is usually associated with pretty fireworks, fun parties and relaxing barbecues. Every year, it’s a giant festivity where friends and family gather to celebrate.

But what are we celebrating? Do Americans remember what initiated Independence Day and the red, white and blue cupcakes in the first place?

A 2011 Marist poll showed that 1 in 4 Americans didn’t know which country the United States declared independence from. And in 2012, a study reported 14% of teens believed the U.S. declared independence from France (5% said from Canada), according to ABC News.

One year later, are Americans any more educated?

A new YouTube video of author Mark Dice quizzing passing individuals on basic Fourth of July facts and receiving answers that are well, far from right and even nonsensical at times, suggests some Americans are still a bit foggy on one of our most American holidays.

So, in light of that, and because some people’s last U.S. history class was taken in the 10th grade at age 16, history professors have rushed to our aid to refresh our memories.

“The colonies had been debating whether or not they should officially secede from the colonies of Great Britain and form their own nation for a while,” says Micah Childress, a history professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. “And they pleaded with the king of Britain. They said, ‘Please, we’d like to stay,’ and the king of Britain — King George — said, ‘No way.’”

“So, after their latest demands for greater freedoms were not met by Britain, they decided to form their own nation, and that’s what the Fourth of July is about,” he says. “That’s our celebration of the Declaration of Independence.”

So, in 1776 on July 4, America was born when Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

And Charles Brooks, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, reminds us that it’s important not to confuse the Declaration of Independence (written by Thomas Jefferson with the help of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams) with the Bill of Rights or the U.S. Constitution.

“The Declaration of Independence is one of our founding documents — one of our most fundamental documents. It stands alone,” Brooks says. “And it’s so fundamental because it proclaims the basic principles in which the American system stands: The idea that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

So what should we be remembering and celebrating as we gather with friends and family to watch fireworks light up the sky?

“It sounds cheesy to say, you know, ‘celebrate America,’ but the ideas behind Independence Day still resonate with Americans. The ideas of freedom and equality and things that came with the Constitution — freedom of the press, freedom of religion,” Childress says. “A greater freedom — that’s what people should be celebrating.”

“I think one thing people should be celebrating is the courage and resolution of the people who declared and fought for independence in the 1770s and 1780s, because it was an extremely brave thing for those people to do,” Cook Jr. says. “They were fighting a unified country that was three times bigger than the total population of the colonies, that had a very powerful established military force. That was not something to undertake casually.”

“Americans as they eat their hotdogs and they enjoy their barbecue should be thankful of what the American experience represents,” Brooks adds. “And not take that for granted.”

So, what would our nation look like if we had never declared independence?

“It’s hard to say. You’d have to figure we wouldn’t have the great diversity we have today because Britain would have controlled that,” Childress says. “Countries in Europe haven’t experienced a lot of immigration until recently — the last couple of decades — so I wonder if we’d have the great diversity we have now without the independence on the Fourth.”

And Blake Murphy, a rising sophomore at Arizona State University and marketing major, also has an idea.

“We’d probably drink a lot more tea today, and the movies National Treasure, Independence Day and The Patriot would have been Her Majesty’s Treasure, Just July Fourth and The Traitor,” Murphy says.